Spirited Away 2: In The Dark
by Jax33
Summary: When a dark force threatens to destroy the Spirit and Human world one girl has the power to either save lives or destroy them.
1. Information

"Where the hell is he?" Lin groaned. She was really putting her neck on the line by being here. If Yubaba ever found out that she was leaking information to someone outside the company she would kill her without a second thought.  
  
"Sorry I'm late" a voice said from the shadows making Lin jump. Thunder roared in the sky as the figure walked out of the shadows.  
  
"Haku. Glad you could finally make it" Lin said with a small hint of bitterness in her voice.  
  
"I apologise. But Xinagu has been keeping me very busy lately."  
  
"I'm sure he has" Lin said mockingly."  
  
"Lin I appreciate what you're doing for us. You have been a great help and—"  
  
"Oh stop sucking up!" Lin gave Haku a smile. "You're forgiven."  
  
"Thank you. Do you have any new information?" Haku asked.  
  
"Well the spirits have been real jumpy lately" Lin lowered her voice and put her head closer to Haku's. "Also I heard some Windgrave spirits talking about some kinda cleaning of the Earth. Destroying the weak and leaving only the strong. They didn't say anything else but by the way they were talking it sounded like it was happening soon. Whatever's going to happen its going to be big."  
  
"Hmmm. I should report this to Xinagu right away." Haku looked up to the dark sky just as there was a flash of lightning. "How long has it been like this?"  
  
"Bout four days" Lin answered also looking up the sky. "It's becoming a real hazard. The train line was closed yesterday."  
  
"Xinagu says the weather is defiantly connected to whatever is coming. He knows more he just won't tell me" Haku said sounding slightly frustrated.  
  
"I better get back in before someone realizes I'm gone." Lin turned round and started making her way to the boiler room door.  
  
"Thank you Lin."  
  
There was a flash of light and when Lin turned round to look she saw a white Dragon flying away from the Bathhouse. "You're welcome." 


	2. Future Echoes

Chihiro stood in the middle of a pitch black room. Suddenly a spotlight shined down on her from above.  
  
"Welcome back."  
  
Chihiro span round to see where the voice was coming from. But she couldn't see outside of the circle of light around her. Chihiro had heard this voice before. She just couldn't remember who the voice belonged to.  
  
"I love you."  
  
Chihiro quickly turned to try and pin point where the voice was coming from. But because of the echo it was near impossible to do so. "Wh---Who's there?" she stuttered.  
  
"I guess we'll never know."  
  
"What's going—"Chihiro began.  
  
"The fate of two worlds rests on your shoulders."  
  
This voice sounded like it came from a much older man.  
  
Chihiro suddenly felt sick. It felt like her strength was being sucked out of her. She dropped to her knees as a much deeper and menacing voice spoke.  
  
"You really think you can protect him from me?"  
  
Images began flashing in Chihiro's head. A boy...standing in front of a bright light. Chihiro's vision was blurry so she couldn't make out who the boy was. As her vision improved she began making out features until it finally dawned on her who it was. "HAKU!"  
  
The image now changed and the smell of blood filled Chihiro's nose. She was on a field. Hundreds of bodies lay dead around her. Suddenly all the bodies eyes opened and they began screaming. Chihiro felt two hands grip around her neck as she began choking. The deep, menacing voice returned.  
  
"I'm going to enjoy killing them."  
  
Chihiro woke up in her bed. "Just a dream" she panted while wiping the sweat of her forehead. She looked over at the clock and saw it was 4am. Taking a few seconds to recover before lying back down on her pillow. No matter how hard she tried to sleep Chihiro couldn't get the dream out of her head...particularly the part involving Haku. 


	3. Haku's New Mission

Xinagu let out a small groan after Haku had told him all the information Lin had provided. Xinagu was a very old man. With long white hair and a beard that reached down to his waist. He may not look like much of a threat but he was still one of the most feared people in the Spirit world. "It is as I feared."  
  
"What is?" Haku questioned impatiently.  
  
Xinagu walked over to his table and sat down. "Tea?" he asked.  
  
"Master what are you not telling me? I know you no more than you are telling me."  
  
"Ah Haku" Xinagu chuckled while taking a small sip from his cup. "You are gifted in many areas but your patience leaves a lot to be desired. These missions I've been sending you on weren't meant to find out what was happening. More to confirm what was happening. You se---"  
  
"You mean you knew what was going on but instead of telling me you decided it would be better to send me flying round the Spirit world for weeks?" Haku interrupted.  
  
"I wanted to make sure I was right before telling anyone my fears. What is happening isn't just something that will blow over in a few months."  
  
"What's going on?" Haku asked growing more and more impatient.  
  
"Everything that is happening now: the dieing crops, the ongoing storm and all the other bad things that seem to be happening lately. They are merely the build up to something much worse." Xinagu let out another groan but this one was much deeper and longer. "It is called Darkness. It has no form, it has no feelings and it lives to destroy life."  
  
"How do you know all this?"  
  
Xinagu looked up at Haku. It was only now that Haku realized how run down the old man looked. "This is not the first time Darkness has been here. Thousands of years ago, when I was still a young spirit, me and a band of other warriors managed to hold it off. We couldn't kill it but by combining our power together we managed to banish it to a hell dimension. We knew that it would find its way out. But it had wiped out the entire Spirit world. By the time we banished it there was nothing left. The few survivors had to rebuild from scratch. It took many years but the spirit world was brought back to its original state."  
  
"But if you have banished this thing before why can't you just do it again?"  
  
Xinagu let out a deep laugh. "Oh if only it where that simple Haku. It took seven of us to banish Darkness. But it was such a hard task that four of the men died right on the spot and the remaining three where driven insane. For whatever reason I was the only one who survived. Fate picked me and I believe that it is my job to HELP destroy Darkness once and for all. I'm not the young boy I used to be. My powers are dwindling in my old age."  
  
"Please Master you are not old. You are the most powerful Wizard in the Spirit world" Haku said reassuringly.  
  
"That may once have been the case. But every day I feel the power leaving my body." Xinagu stood out of his chair and began walking over to a chair near the fireplace. Haku followed him. "I know I don't have long left on this world. Which is why I want to make sure that Darkness is destroyed before I die." Xinagu sat down slowly in the chair and Haku sat down in the one across. "Haku we are running out of time. Which is why I want to send you on your last mission."  
  
"What is it I must do Master?" Haku eagerly asked. "The Higher Powers have spoken to me. They have given me the guidance that we will need if we are to stand any chance of surviving against this oncoming apocalypse. They have pointed me in the direction of a young girl. She will be important in the upcoming battle."  
  
Haku stood up. "Where is she? I'll get her right away."  
  
"As always it's a bit more complicated than that. The young girl lives in the Human world. I believe you've met her before" Xinagu said with a smile.  
  
"Chihiro."  
  
"Exactly! I need you to go get her and bring her back to the Spirit world. Don't worry about getting into the Human world. I will be able to grant you a temporary passage, but you will not have long. It requires a great deal of magic to allow a Spirit into the Human world. I have her location so you must go there and bring her back straight away."  
  
Haku couldn't believe it. After five years he was going to see Chihiro again! His mind buzzed as he imagined what she would look like now and how she would react.  
  
"Hey Haku" Xinagu gave him a small poke as he said this.  
  
"Yes?" he asked as he was brought out of his daze.  
  
"Are you ready to leave now?" Xinagu asked.  
  
Haku's mouth curved into a grin. "You bet." 


	4. Happy Reunion?

Haku stood outside the door. Unsure what he should do. As he had gotten closer to Chihiro's home he's confidence had gradually left him. Now he stood outside the door to her house, his hand shaking from nerves. What if she didn't want to see him? What if she had completely changed and didn't want to know him? It had been five years since he had last seen her. "People change" he mentally told himself. "But not Chihiro" he said as he lifted his right hand up and knocked on the door three times. After about ten seconds a woman answered the door.  
  
"Can I help you?" she asked as she gave Haku a suspicious look. She had no idea who this boy was and he was wearing very weird clothes.  
  
"Hello. My name is Haku, I'm here to see Chihiro" he told the woman. He could tell the woman didn't trust him so he tried his best to come across good.  
  
"How do you know Chihiro?"  
  
"We're old friends" Haku answered. "Is she here?"  
  
"I'm afraid not. She is out with Pike again." The woman rolled her eyes at the last part of her sentence.  
  
"You must be her mother. Would it be ok if I came in and waited for her?" Haku asked trying his best not to come across badly.  
  
"Erm...can it wait?" Chihiro's mum said as she slowly started to close the door.  
  
"I'm afraid not" Haku told her. "It is very important I see her."  
  
"Erm...well...I guess you can come in and wait for a little while" the mum said as she opened up the door for Haku to walk in.  
  
"Thank you" he said as he walked into Chihiro's home. He looked around at his surroundings and was slightly taken back. The inside of the house was huge and full of things Haku had never seen before. As Chihiro's mother led him to the living room he look at the beautiful plants, the colourful paintings on the wall and a large clock that stood in the corner.  
  
"Please sit down" the mother said pointing to a nearby couch.  
  
Haku looked to where she was pointing and sat down. He jumped back up when he realized that something black was moving towards him.  
  
"Oh don't worry about Tyson. He won't bite" the mother said reassuringly.  
  
Haku looked down at the small cat and slowly sat down. Keeping his eyes on this new creature at all times. In the Spirit world they didn't have these things called "cats" so this was his first encounter with one. "So...how do you know Chihiro?" the mother asked trying to start conversation.  
  
"I met her..." Haku's mind went blank and he had no idea what to say. "At a..." Haku trailed off. He had no idea how to say "I helped her save you from being turned into bacon when you stumbled into the Spirit world."  
  
"There is defiantly something not right about this boy" the mother thought to herself. She picked up the remote and turned the TV on. "Is there anything you would like to watch on Television?"  
  
Haku jumped straight up for the second time when the black box next to him suddenly came to life. He took a few steps back and looked over at the woman. "Television?"  
  
"You must know what a Television is" the mother asked in disbelief. Haku shook his head. That was it. There was defiantly something not right about this boy. "Where are you from?" she asked.  
  
Haku just stared at her for a few seconds. Unsure how to answer. "Erm...I---"  
  
Haku was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and a girl's voice yelling "I'm home."  
  
"Chihiro there is someone here to see you" her mum called out.  
  
Haku could hear her footsteps get louder as she got closer to the room. He's heart started beating fast and he felt like he couldn't move. It seemed like hours as she walked to the front room. Thousands of bad scenarios ran through Haku's mind. Then he saw her. He finally saw her! She had changed so much. Chihiro was now tall and slender, with lustrous long hair the colour of chestnut. Haku was at lost for words at Chihiro just stared at him.  
  
"Haku?" 


	5. Chihiro's Choice

"Haku!" Chihiro screamed as she ran up to him and locked him in a tight hug. "Oh my God is it you?"  
  
"Erm...I'll leave you to it" the mother said uncomfortably as she left the room.  
  
Haku was a stunned by the big welcome and it took a few seconds to get his thoughts back in order. He placed his arms around Chihiro and hugged her back. "Yes it's me" he said smiling.  
  
The two continued hugging until another boy walked into the room. He looked slightly older than Chihiro and was about two inches taller than Haku. He coughed. "So who's the boy?" he asked. Chihiro pulled away from Haku awkwardly as she walked back to the boy and he placed an arm protectively around her waist.  
  
"Oh Pike, Haku is an old friend of mine" Chihiro said.  
  
"Really?" Pike asked clearly unconvinced. "You greet all your friends like that?"  
  
"I haven't seen him in years and we are very close" Chihiro said flashing a quick smile at Haku.  
  
Pike let go of Chihiro and walked straight up to Haku. He stared at Haku for a few seconds before extending his hand. "I'm Pike, Chihiro's boyfriend."  
  
Haku felt a burst of jealousy as he took his hand and shook it. "I'm Haku."  
  
Chihiro got in between the two boys and looked at Haku. "Why are you here?" she asked.  
  
"I'm here to tell you something." Haku glanced at Pike. "In private."  
  
"Sure." Chihiro turned round to Pike. "Could you give us a minute?"  
  
"I got to leave anyway" Pike told them. "Ring me up later ok babe?"  
  
"Sure thing" Chihiro answered.  
  
Pike bent down and gave Chihiro a quick kiss on the lips. As he was kissing her he looked at Haku as if to say "She's mine."  
  
Haku just ignored him and tried to not act on the desire to break the kiss up. Pike finished kissing Chihiro and left. Both Haku and Chihiro didn't speak until they heard the front door close.  
  
"Haku" she began. "I can't believe it's you! After all these years I was starting to think I had dreamed up the whole thing."  
  
Haku smiled. "No it wasn't a dream."  
  
"Why are you here? Have you escaped from the Spirit world?" she asked hopefully.  
  
"No. I have been granted a pass to the Human world for a small amount of time. Just enough time to do what I have to do."  
  
"What's that then?" Chihiro asked confused.  
  
Haku took a deep breathe. "I need you to come back to the Spirit world with me."  
  
"WHAT? Why?" Chihiro was amazed. "You told me to never look back."  
  
"I know and believe me the last thing I want to do is bring you back with me. Especially now of all times. But what's going on is bigger than what I want."  
  
"But what about Yubaba? She will turn me into a pig the second she sees me."  
  
"No she won't. This time you are under the protection of a very powerful wizard" Haku said trying to reassure her. He hated the idea of dragging Chihiro back into the Spirit world. It was bad enough before but now things where really becoming dangerous there. But if Xinagu thought that it could save the lives of millions then Haku really didn't have much choice.  
  
"But I can't just leave. I have a life here. I'm pretty sure my parents will notice that I've disappeared."  
  
"Chihiro if you don't come with me then your parents will be dead within the next few months. Along with every other person you have ever cared about." Haku could feel himself being dragged back to the Spirit world. He was almost out of time. Haku put his right hand towards Chihiro. "Please, trust me."  
  
Chihiro looked down at Haku's hand for a few seconds before taking hold of it. As soon as they touched there was a bright flash of light and when it had gone Haku and Chihiro were no longer in the living room. 


	6. Meetings

"OW!"

Chihiro had landed awkwardly on the ground.

"We're defiantly not at home" she muttered at she got up and looked around.

She appeared to be in a crop field that stretched out as far as her eyes could see. But there was something wrong with this crop field.

"Why are all the crops dead?"

"It's an effect of Darkness" Haku told her.

He was sat calmly on top of a large rock.

"How come I landed all funny on the ground and you are sitting nicely up there?" Chihiro asked playfully.

"Training" Haku answered back, laughing as he jumped off the rock and landed softly on his feet. "We should get straight to Xinagu. He is very eager to meet you."

Haku and Chihiro began walking across the field.

After walking in silence for ten minutes Chihiro spoke. "What's Xinagu like?"

Haku stopped walking and a look of concentration was on his face.

"What is it?" Chihiro asked worriedly.

"MOVE!" Haku yelled as he span round and pushed Chihiro to the floor.

Seconds later a huge ball of fire smashed into where Chihiro had been standing. Haku had not had time to move himself so he was sent flying through the air and landed with a loud thud a few meters away. Chihiro looked up into the sky to see what had thrown the fireball.

"Oh my god."

A dragon flew in circles in the air above, its eyes pin pointed on Chihiro. It looked just like Haku did in dragon form only instead of being white it was dark red. In a flash the dragon began to descend and landed in front of Chihiro, the ground shaking from the impact. It opened its mouth wide and a ball of fire began to grow.

"_I'm dead" _Chihiro thought as she closed her eyes and waited.

But something grabbed her by the waist and she felt her legs leave the ground for a few moments then land again. When she opened her eyes Haku was standing in front of her, his clothes torn and burnt. She was now standing to the side of the dragon. He had picked her up and flown her out of the way again. The dragon turned its head viciously and growled as Haku stepped in front of Chihiro.

"How about you change out of that form and we talk this over like adults?" Haku asked.

The dragon stood for a few seconds and just stared. But then it began to get smaller and change shape. The figure of a boy, who looked about the same age as Haku, now stood where the mighty dragon had just been. He had a wicked grin on his face and wore all red clothing.

"Haku" he laughed. "Long time no see."

"Dax" Haku answered coldly. "I'm surprised to see you attack me again after what happened last time."

"Well you know what they say. If at first you don't succeed in killing the two-faced piece of trash then try, try again."

"From what I remember you could barley walk after out last encounter."

"From what I remember you weren't in much better shape."

There was silence as the two boys stared at each other. Chihiro gripped onto Haku's arm.

"But for once this isn't about you" Dax said. "Yubaba sensed the human and sent me to investigate. She was very surprised when it turned out to be a former employee. What is her name again...Sen?"

"Her name is Chihiro" Haku said menacingly.

"Oh yeah the whole winning her contract back thing. Anyway Yubaba wants her so I'll be taking her off your hands now. A nice little hottie like that will be good to have around the bath house."

"Don't even try it."

"You gonna stop me?"

"This girl is under the protection of Xinagu."

Dax laughed. "Xinagu?! That old man? You think too highly of him. He's nothing but a washed up has been. His name means nothing anymore. Hell, I could take him down."

"Would you like to test that theory?" said a voice from behind Dax.

"Xinagu!" Dax said once he turned around and saw who was behind him.

Xinagu stood with a wooden staff in one hand and a ball of fire in the other. "I understand that you are just here doing Yubaba's dirty work so this one time I will let you go. But if I ever catch you threatening anyone under my protection again I will not hesitate to turn you into ashes. Do you understand?"

Dax stared at Xinagu and Haku and then at Chihiro, a look of pure anger on his face. "This isn't over."

Dax then shot up into the air and was out of sight in seconds.

"Wh...who was that?" Chihiro asked.

"Yubaba's new henchmen Dax" Haku answered. "Xinagu and Yubaba are long time enemies so naturally me and Dax have crossed paths many times before."

Xinagu stopped looking up at the sky and looked at Chihiro. "So you must be Chihiro" he said smiling. "Welcome to the Spirit world. We have much to discuss."


End file.
